How to remove and root/pot several bushy “sucker” plants

Question

How to remove and root/pot several bushy “sucker” plants that have grown from the leaf nodes on the main (thick) stalk. This is a plant that I care for in my office. It has wonderful light and is thriving, but as the side-shoot plants get bigger, I fear the whole plant could collapse from the weight of these side plants. They are beautiful and I want to remove them, but also to root and plant them separately.

Answer 1

What kind of a plant is it? Hard to tell you much about it without knowing that. Without knowing any more than what you present, I can suggest that you can simply cut the side shoots off and try rooting them, either in water or in rooting medium, and see what happens. Here’s some information about rooting: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/projects/rooting-plant-cuttings.htm

Answer 2

Well, rats….I see that the initial part of my post was cut off somehow.

It should have said: A dieffenbachia that initially was around 18″ tall is now near eight feet! It also has several suckers that have taken off in a HUGE way. The ones in the soil will be easy to deal with, just cut the rootball so that each has a good supply. My problem is the shoots that are along the stem…….(then the rest of the post that showed up….) sorry for the confusion.

Answer 3

OK, dieffenbachia. Sounds like a beauty, and very energetic. What you’ve got on the sides are simply branches, and you can cut them off and root them just like I said above. Also, since it’s so tall, you may want to cut back the top. Just cut that main stem somewhere below where you’d like to see the plant; you might want to leave branches on the main trunk. The plant will send up some new shoots from just below the cut. Then you can cut the top part into 3 or 4 (or whatever) pieces and root them too. Here’s some more information on rooting dief: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/dumb-cane/propagating-dieffenbachia.htm